Escaping the Inescapable
by studdevil
Summary: “So… Everybody we know is… Dead…?” Ranma asked, not understanding. Then after a moment, his emotions hit him and the realization of the enormity of what he just said was clear. He started to cry as well, not caring if Akane was there to see him.
1. Ranma Falls

**Escaping the Inescapable**

_by Studdevil_

_Uh-oh! It's a re-write! Wait? Isn't that a good thing! Yes! It's a re-write! Please re-read this re-write as I wouldn't have re-written it if you weren't going to re-read it..? Sorry! Confused myself even. It's like ET completely remastered, but I actually did something besides add new music. Well, I didn't add new music, but..._

_Enjoy:D_

Chapter One

It was another normal day at the Tendo home in the small district of Nerima. Pedestrians inhaled the welcoming aroma of lunch seeping out the kitchen window as they passed by doing their daily chores.

The sun is shining bright, casting shadows across the green gardens brought to life with the the help of the Tendo's oldest daughter.

The Tendo house has a quaint feeling to it. Flourishing gardens wrapped around the house, its boundaries only the old, beaten, wood fence.

A blazing orange koi fish with scarlet speckles flips above the surface and lands back into the cold pond.

Everything seems quiet. Very unusual for Nerima. The only thing heard is the constant ripple of the water.

Then out of the blue, wood chips burst out the top of the roof. Accompanied by it is a rather large panda holding a cracked wood sign reading: "No fair!"

The Nerima everyone has come to expect. Ordinary Nerima. Anyone watching, unless from out of town, dismisses it without a second glance.

And who is to blame for it all? Why it is two certain martial artists, fresh from the Jusenkyo training grounds. But was their coming for the worse?

In a short-tempered girls opinion it was, and she will never admit anything else no matter how much she is questioned.

A raven haired boy, with his hair tied in a short pigtail, runs outside and sees the panda fly into orbit and gives a hearty laugh at his victory.

"That'll show pop to steal my food!! Haha!!" The overly confident boy screams as he shields his eyes from the intense afternoon light.

His victory didn't last long though, as he dodged a giant wooden mallet that seemed to come from nowhere, aimed for his head.

"Ranma! You're fixing that hole you made in my room now!" Yelled a very angry girl.

The boy looked up to see that he had punted the panda straight through Akane's room.

"Nah, a macho chick like you should have no problem fixing the roof! Why d'ya need me ta do it?" The boy sneered.

The girl turned red and swung the wooden mallet at him again, which he quickly dodged and flung his hands out as a feeble attempt to stop the attack.

"Alright, alright! I'll fix the stupid roof! Geez, your so uncute sometimes…"

The pigtailed boy sighed as he began to patch up the roof. He took a look at the plank of wood and realizes it is way to small to cover up the giant hole his oaf of a father had made.

He rubs his head and pain twinges across his features. _"She didn't have to hit me so hard!" _ The boy crosses his arms and thinks.

Ranma lowers a new plank of wood onto the tiles and starts to nail it in. It only takes up a fraction of the space he needs to cover.

"_Man, this is gonna take forever!"_ Ranma thinks as he looks at the huge hole the panda had made in the roof.

After another minute of silence he hears a small thud sound from behind him and turns to see where it originated from.

"Ayahh!!! Ranma!" Shampoo screams as she glomps Ranma in a gigantic hug, knocking him onto his butt.

"S-Shampoo!" was all he could squeak out as he was squeezed tightly by the over-excited Amazon girl.

"Ranma take Shampoo on big romantic date now, yes?" The beaming girl asks as she hugs her airen.

Ranma pulls at the grabbing hands of his crazed fiancée, trying to free himself. His attempt of self preservation is futile as he accepts defeat for the first time in his life.

He just shook his head wondering why he was always the target for over-affection and sighs as he is ravished.

As the thought of a certain fiancée seeing the two together Ranma is sparked to get the girl off of him.

"Shampoo! Let go! What if someone sees us!" Ranma pleaded her to stop. Then a dark shadow is casted upon the two and Ranma fears he will never see the light again.

"Yes Ranma, What if someone sees you?" Asks a subtle voice, knowing how to handle her idiot fiancé.

Ranma, who knew his fate was sealed if he stayed any longer, begins to back away from both girls.

"Akane! It's not what it, er, looks like!" Ranma closed his eyes and keeps on stepping back, waiting to be struck by the painful mallet of doom.

Ranma, who was trying to keep his distance from Akane, did not notice he was walking straight for the hole in the roof he had never finished fixing. His breath stops when his foot plunges down, but makes no contact with the floor.

He feels one leg falling through the damaged roof with the other one still outside. He reached out to grab something but all he gets is a handful of splinters.

His mind, being the mind of a martial artist was able to think on the fly and prepared for any situation. He quickly curled up in a ball and tried to get ready for the fall he was about to roll into. He started breathing quicker and quicker and he knew it was going to be a painful landing no matter how expertly he landed.

This all happens in less then a second and he knew he was about to hit the floor when he realized he was falling through the second hole the panda had made on his exit.

"_How the hell didn't I see that...?" _Ranma asks himself in shock.

The boy flails his arms around, hoping he'd start flying and could avoid this.

He did not start flying and plummets towards the gaping hole in the floor. The force he was falling was gaining and when he was about to pass through the second floor he felt his head hit the side of the floor really hard.

Ranma hit the wood floor with a thud. He heard muffled screams from people around him, but couldn't make out what they were saying. Everything looked fuzzy and dim and he couldn't see straight. He wonders if he is going to die, but tries to dismiss the horrible thought.

He grabs his head and feels a wet goop trickling down, but it stings so he lets go.

He recognized the voice of the person leaning over him to be Akane, followed by Shampoo and Kasumi.

He can't think straight. All he knows is that his head hurt like hell and maybe dying isn't such a bad idea after all.

The voices fade as he feels himself lose consciousness and his vision turns to pitch black, along with his thoughts.

0—0-0-0-0-0—0

_There's the re-write! How was it? Better I hope? I know it's a lot longer, and It's written much better. Thanks for all the kind reviews. They're the only reason I re-wrote this chapter. I'm gonna re-write chapter 2 and then I will continue writing a new chapter as I want to make a little progress before I finish re-writing the rest of the chapters._

_Thanks for reading:D_

_Studdevil_


	2. Sad Whispers

**Escaping the Inescapable**

by Studdevil

_Please enjoy the re-write of this chapter, I hope you like it much better._

Ranma's eyes open to darkness that seems to go on forever. He can't see anything. Feel anything. His head feels fine, but he doesn't notice yet. As the darkness boars into his senses he takes a harsh breath. He looks down and feels the ground he is sitting on. It isn't his bed as he would come to expect after waking up.

His thoughts catch up with him as he wonders where he is. He feels his ripped shirt, and wonders why it is ripped. His body feels achy and he shivers in the cold while he sits up. _"Was.. that a dream..? Did I dream that..?"_

Ranma takes a long breath in and releases it slowly. _"What's that smell? Oil or somethin'? _The salty strong smell has a horrible taste and makes the young boy feel like gagging.

Ranma opened his eyes all the way to see where he was. He didn't believe it at first and felt himself going into shock, wondering how any of what he was seeing was possible. He pinched himself once. "Yeah, it's real..." He whispers, his voice course from not speaking in a while.

He was in a small barred chamber that couldn't be much bigger then a bathroom or large closet. Dust covers everything Ranma touches, even himself. He feels the urge to sneeze but then it disappears.

There is one oil lamp in the middle of the room that revealed other barred cages circling around the walls of the room. Wooden crates are stacked in the center of the room, there contents unknown.

"Where… Am… I…?" Ranma asks to no one in particular. After a moment of silence, someone stirs in front of him.

"Ranma?" Asked a quiet voice. It belonged to the youngest Tendo daughter, and Ranma's fiancé, Akane.

"Akane!" Ranma shouted. "Where the hell are we!" Ranma was frightened.

"Shh! Don't yell. We don't want the Surota to come back." Akane said in a strained whisper.

"Akane. What happened… " Ranma asked in a serious tone. "Who are the…?" The boy lost his words.

Ranma could see her face now. The bars were casting stripes on her face as she spoke quietly in a tired voice.

"You hit your head when you fell, and I'm sorry. That's my fault. But this whole mess is your father's fault. You've been knocked out for days. I started to think you were…dead"

Ranma stared at her, waiting for her to continue.

He noticed a few lone tears were sliding down her cheek which all the more made him want to know what had happened.

"Akane… Why are you…" Ranma was cut off by Akane.

"When you and your dad were traveling after you went to Jusenkyo, you went to a village of natives named the baraiddo, right?" She said, trying not to cry in front of Ranma.

Ranma didn't understand why she was crying but responded, "We went to a lot of places but I… Y-yeah… I think it was that one… They made us a feast the night we stayed there, why…?"

Ranma could tell this was extremely serious and listened intently hoping what she was about to say would shed light on where they were.

"Please tell me everything that happened there ,Ranma. I… We, need to know.

Ranma shifted to get closer to her. The boy's head was wandering and still didn't know where he was. It was so quiet that even whispers echoed in the tiny cavern-like room.

"We visited the village while pops was lost trying to read the Chinese map he had. The people there were really scrawny. Not 'cuz they didn't eat or nothin', but because of some problem, er… I don't know. They had really tasty food though. They all were into the whole water curse thing and were, err… Asking questions about it and Jusenkyo. Me and pop left really quickly because they were always dumping water on us and asking about our curses. We simply gave them the map that showed Jusenkyo so they wouldn't follow us, and left."

"They were being attacked by another village right?" Akane asked.

"Um… I don't know if they were attacked but they were being bullied by another tribe. They were much stronger but we never saw them. We only heard about them from one of the elders that could speak some Japanese. Why…?"

"That's it…"

"What…? Akane… I'm really confused."

"They found the cursed spring of Bisutto and changed into beasts to fight the other village..."

"THEY WHAT!" Ranma exclaimed. Akane grabbed him and shook him.

"Shut up!" She said in a harsh whisper. "They'll hear you! For the past year after you left them they made… This place." Akane motioned around herself at the structure they were in.

Akane was beginning to tear up again. "Akane… What happened? Why are you crying?" Ranma grabbed Akane by her shoulders, trying to comfort her a little. It wasn't helping.

"Ranma… While you were knocked out they… They invaded our whole town… All of Nerima… Maybe other places and…"

"And what!" Ranma whispered back._ 'Why is she crying over this?' _Akane was full on crying now into Ranma's chest, soaking his red Chinese shirt.

"They killed everyone." Akane gagged out. There was silence. Ranma was too shocked to say anything. His mind swirled and dived into desperation as he wondered how it was all possible. Akane was grabbing his shirt and clenching it hard now, almost ripping it.

"They've taken everyone out of these," Akane was at a loss of words, "Cages! And…They never… Come… Back…" She cried into into his chest.

Ranma was far too stunned to even comfort her now as his life twisted into a hell hole with no escape. He stood up, emotionless. An emtpy shell of a person. A mouse that just realized he's part of an elaborate maze, testing him, and forcing him to run through it with no end.

"So… Everybody we know is… Dead…?" Ranma asked, not understanding.

Then after a moment, his emotions hit him and the realization of the enormity of what he just said was clear. He started to cry as well, not caring if Akane was there to see him. He cried with Akane in his arms.

_That's the re-write! I just can't believe I wrote like that before! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and make sure to read the rest!_

_Studddevil_


	3. Anyone There?

**Escaping the Inescapable**

by Studdevil

"_So… Everybody we know is… Dead…?"_

The thought rang in his head over and over.

He wanted to know why she was crying and now he knew.

His heart felt as if it had been ripped in half.

His life would never be the same.

It couldn't be.

How did all this happen?

I should have been up and protecting them.

What did it mean?

He would never be able to eat Ukyo's cooking again.

He would never see the overwhelming joy on Shampoo's face.

He could never again have a friendly spar with his father.

He would not be able to laugh at Mouse's blind antics anymore.

Kasumi's smile would never brighten his cloudy days anymore.

No more Nabiki taking dirty pictures of him.

No more challenges from Kuno.

No more rants from Mr. Tendo.

No more life.

Teardrops were coming quicker down his shadowed face.

How could this happen?

Was everyone really gone?

Why us?

How are we still here?

Where are we?

Questions kept forming inside his flooded mind.

Ranma wanted answers and looked down at the only one to give them to him.

The tired girl was still quietly sobbing on his chest.

His red shirt was soaked by now and the girl began to run out of tears.

Ranma broke the long silence they had and pushed Akane up slowly.

He had so many questions that he wanted her to answer.

Ranma was surprised that Akane started talking.

"This is probably really hard for you to understand." Akane quietly said. "They came into our house; there must have been fifty, or sixty. Your dad tried to fight them off but they were just too powerful."

The blue haired girl was trying to hold back her tears as she kept on telling the confused boy what happened.

"I was throwing tables and chairs at them. Everything I saw, I threw. I almost threw Nabiki. Kasumi was in the back of the house trying to wake you up. They took her too. Each took a person and ran off."

Ranma stood wide-eyed as Akane told him what happened while he was out cold.

"They were ramming through walls, and breaking everything. I saw Kasumi crying. My dad tried to scare them away but that didn't work either. Nabiki was in her room reading or something. She offered money for all of us, but they didn't care and took her too."

"Akane… Where are we…?" Ranma quietly asked.

The girl shifted a little bit and crossed her legs. She was thinking.

"I don't know. It was nighttime and I was almost knocked out when they were carrying us. It wasn't because they had pounded me, because they did, but they smelt so bad. I don't know if it was the smell of blood or dead meat, but their hair and skin just reeked and almost knocked me out." Akane's body trembles at the thought of the horrifying events that had hppened. "Oh Ranma. I'm so scared!" Akane fell back into his arms, now crying again.

Ranma tried to comfort her again. Everything was still a shock to him.

"Akane?" Ranma had another question that was popping up higher than all the others in his mind. Akane tilted her head up slightly waiting for him to speak, tears still stinging her eyes. "Who are, 'they'? What are they…?" Akane shook her head. She knew he was assessing the threat of them.

"Ranma, have you ever heard the saying that there's strength in numbers? Well, it's like that but they are all very strong to begin with. I don't know if you could even handle one…" He nodded his head in disappointment.

"They must have been seven or eight feet tall. The thing that stood out the most was their black hair. I just… Can't explain it. It was, death-black. It had stains of red in it. Probably from the people they killed."

There was a short silence, as if for the people who had perished, then she continued.

"Their right arm was some sort of leathery thing with two points on the ends. It was really hard. The left was normal and covered in hair. The head was flat. If you looked straight on it sorta looked like the front of a frog. They had huge mouths with big pointy yellow teeth. Some were missing their teeth and some had full sets. The feet had three huge stubby toes with something coming out the back."

"How do you know that they went to Jusenkyo? I mean…"

"They told us. They brought us water while we waited in here and they made us pray to Jusenkyo or something like that.

"Oh…" Ranma stood up and sighed. He had been down so long his legs hurt. "Akane?" Ranma whispered.

"What?" Akane replied, wondering what possible question he could think of now.

"Is everyone gone? You said they've been taking them from cages so…" Ranma asked with a hint of hope in his voice.

Akane sighed. "I don't know. I didn't want to risk getting caught. I hoped they'd just forget about me. They haven't been down here for a long time." Akane chewed on her lip. "I mean, it's possible the people were taken are still alive.. But I doubt it..." Akane's voice trailed off.

"And...?" Ranma waited for more, even though Akane seemed to be finished.

"Well I have no clue if anyone else is still in a cage around here. If they have they've definitely been quietly."

Ranma sat back down. "Hmm." Ranma reached around himself and found a small rock.

He quickly aimed between the bars and threw the rock across the room.

They waited. Nothing. No sign that anyone was there. _'I guess we are the only ones left.' _Ranma thought in disappointment.

"Oww! Hey! Akane! What the hell?" Ranma screamed.

"Shut up!" Akane whispered in a murderous fashion. "Why are you screaming?!" She almost screamed herself.

"You threw somethin' at me! Duh!" Akane shot him a weird look, or he thought it was a weird look.

"What are you talking about Ranma? I didn't throw anything. Why would I?"

Ranma turned his head and looked across the room. _'No… No way!'_

Ranma looked at the twisting staircase on the end of the room to make sure nothing was coming and whispered louder.

"Hello? Who's there?" Ranma looked at the cage on the other side of the room. He waited a second. Nothing. '_Maybe it just fell from the ceiling or something'_

Then he thought he heard some rustling and whispering. "Akane. Someone's over there!" Ranma told her quietly. Akane, who wasn't sure what he was talking about, looked over there.

Indeed there was some rustling in the large cage across from them. "Who's there?" Akane whispered a little louder then Ranma had.

The rustling stopped. "That Airen and pervert girl?" Came from a familiar voice from the shadows.

"Shampoo?" Asked Ranma. "Who's else is there?" His hope is restored.

There was silence, then an answer.

"Some man Shampoo no know, and pig."

"Bweeeeeeeeee!" Screamed the pig.

"P-chan? How'd you get here?" Akane wanted to be hugging the pig and wished the pig was with her in the cage. She knew P-chan would always be there for her.

"Who is the guy Shampoo?" Ranma asked once again.

"I said it man Shampoo not know. He say he know Shampoo but I no remember him." Said the Amazon.

"What do you mean you don't know me, young lady? I was there when you got your curse!"

"You stalk Shampoo!" Shampoo asked, threatened. Ranma heard someone bump into the small crate.

"No, no! I work at Jusenkyo! Please don't hit me!" Ranma felt like laughing, but he knew it wouldn't be right to laugh.

"Yo! Is that you, Jusenkyo guide?" Ranma waited.

"Yes it is! Could you tell this lady to get away from me?"

Ranma ignored his pleads.

"What are you doing here in Nerima? I didn't know other places were attacked."

"Umm, I was there when they came to the springs. They were very nice people, they were. Until they went into the springs, at least. When they came out they started chasing me and they brought me here. There was only ten of them or so. From what this lady told me there were more. They must have gone back, I understand."

"P-chan! Come here baby!" Akane quietly pleaded.

The little pig squeezed through the bars and came running across to get to Akane. "Look Ranma! It's P-chan!" Akane squealed in delight and hugged her frightened companion.

As the pig squealed with joy, Akane continued to hold him to her chest and snuggle him. Ranma only shook his head. "Now all we have to do is get outta here." Ranma announced.

"Right…" Akane agreed.

'_But how…?'_

End of chapter 3


	4. Ranma's Plan and Ryoga's fear pt1

**Escaping the Inescapable **(_Re-written)_

by Studdevil

_Ranma's Plan and Ryoga's Fear (part 1)_

"_There's always a key to something that is locked. There has to be. How can you lock something without a key? Sometimes the key is keeping someone out of something. Sometimes a key is keeping something inside. There always has to be a key, right?"_

The young martial artist head was exploding with questions. Questions that led to other questions. His mind was being put into overdrive from the current problem at hand. There's no way out.

The boy reached out a strong muscular hand and gripped the steel bar that was in the way of him being free. He wished it would just disappear.

He drove his hand into the bar as hard as he could, hoping to break it. He collided with the bar and heard a loud ringing noises followed by pain shooting up his arm.

"Ow! Crap! Dang it!" He practically screamed in pain. With his hand still twitching in pain he plopped down on his butt and started to think again. "I can't even make a dent in the bar, less break it down. How am I... We gonna get outta here...? In movies there'd usually be a hook on the wall with them hanging off of that. Or maybe a dog holding them in his mouth." After carefully scanning the room he saw no sign of anything that could help them.

His thoughts drifted off to other things like Akane. She was holding Ryoga to her chest very affectionately. Normally he would have said something to stop her, or try to boot the pig away, but this time, seeing how the little pig was making her so happy at a time like this, he thought it was better just to leave them alone.

"_I guess the stupid Ryoga's good for something." _Ranma would rather her cuddling with him then her sad again.

Now he was back to thinking of a way out. _"No key's. No big lock to pick. All there is in here is a bunch of stupid crates!"_

He slammed his hand down on one of the crates as hard as he could. He broke through the wood and heard the shattering of glass.

"What the...?"

Curiosity got the better of him and he slowly reached his hand into the small wooden crate. He dipped his finger in farther. He made contact with..something.

He grabbed it. It has a circular shape. Sort of a tube like thing. _"Maybe a jar?"_ He put his hand in lower and felt a cold liquid. The young boy also noticed his finger was shrinking.

"No!" Said a now smaller, red haired girl. Both Akane and P-chan looked up at him. They had been so busy playing that they just now noticed Ranma's change.

Ranma slumped in annoyance and disappointment. "Why water! We need something that can help us! How can water help us!"

"You found water Ranma! I bet you're thirsty huh, P-chan?" Akane stopped tickling the little piglet.

"_P-chan... Water..."_ Ranma looked over at the little black piglet in Akane's arms, then to the crate filled with jars of water, to the little lamp burning in the middle of the circular room.

"I think I've got a plan to get out" Ranma stated to the entire room. _"But Ryoga 'aint gonna like it..."_

End of Chapter Four

_Thanks to the two that have reviewed!_

_Black Kitsuna_

_and_

_TheAlmightyHachu_

_-Studdevil-_


	5. Ranma's Plan and Ryoga's fear pt2

**Escaping the Inescapable **(Re-Written)

by Studdevil

_Ranma's Plan and Ryoga's Fear (part 2)_

"I think I've got a plan to get out" Ranma stated to the entire room. _"But Ryoga 'aint gonna like it..."_

"Ranma think of plan already? You too too smart!" The amazon screamed from the other side of the room.

The Tendo girl glared across the room. "What is it Ranma?" She asked.

"Well, um... I need to talk to the pig first." Ranma tried to sound innocent.

Silence.

The girl cocked her head to the side. "P-chan...?" She asked questioningly.

"Yeah." The Ranma repeated. "I need to talk to him." Akane looked at him strangely and shrugged.

"Whatever. Go see Ranma P-chan..." Akane said in disappointment.

The pig squealed and slowly plodded over to the now standing girl, leaving small footprints in the dirty stone floor.

The red-haired girl reached down and grabbed the little pig by the head. "Listen Ryoga" Ranma whispered, "I've got a plan but you need to cooperate."

The small piglet nodded it's head in acknowledgment. Akane rolled her eyes.

Still speaking quietly enough so only the pig heard him, Ranma told him the plan he had formed in his mind. The pig's eyes shot open wide.

"Ow! Stupid pig! Ya don't hafta bite! That's the only way!" The pig shook it's head rapidly with tears flying from it's eyes.

Akane rose. "What did you do to him Ranma! Come here P-chan.." The small pig looked over behind him, then back at Ranma. His head sunk.

"She's gonna find out sooner or later. Mighta's well be now." Ranma encourages. "It's the only way to save us all. Do you want us all to die down here in this hell hole?"

Akane jumped up and slid in between the two. "Stop it! Ranma! Find out what! P-chan can't talk!"

"As far as you know.." Ranma mumbled under his breath. The pig shed a few tears then slowly squeezed out of the metal cage.

"Where's P-chan going?" Akane demanded. She watched along with the other people occupying the room.

"I'm sorry Ryoga.. But it has to be you... Shampoo can't do this..."

The pig gave one last look at his beloved then continued to the middle of the circular room. He looked at the lantern that sat on the ground. He wondered how long that thing had been burning. The oil hadn't been changed in a while so he should probably hurry.

"Here pig." Ranma said as he threw some wooden boards from the crates next to the now bawling pig. Slowly, the small pig pushed his nose against the cold wooden chips of the crate and formed a small circle of wood.

"Looks good Ryoga.. Just finish it up.."

"Ranma..? What is P-chan doing?" Her eyes glinted curiosity. Ranma didn't answer. She kept her eyes on the black pig. "Ranma!"

"Shh! Just watch." The girl said as she turned her head back to watch the small pig, who was staring back at him.

"Oh.. Here ya go." Ranma reached back into the crate and pulled out one of the jars that had managed to survive the blow of his fist. He slowly pushed the jar through the strong bars, making sure it would not break and rolled it across the hard ground to the small pig.

The pile of wood was a good two feet away from the small jail that was holding Ranma and Akane. The pig had trouble seeing what he was doing because of the tears that were pouring from his eyes and blurring his vision. There were now small puddles forming on the dirt ground below him. The boy turned pig was doing his job as slowly as he possibly could. He wanted to savor the taste of Akane's love for a few more minutes. Over behind him was a girl who cared for him. But she didn't see him as him, but as a pig. As a pet. That alone, and how much he wanted to see her safe, was the only thing that kept the poor boy going.

The small oinker pushed his small, moist nose up against the rather large, glass jar filled with water and pushed it towards the few chunks of wood. It now rested in the center of the ring of wood.

Akane couldn't take it anymore. She had to know what was going on. "Ranma." She put a nice voice on. "Please tell me what P-chan is doing." She said it in her sweetest voice.

"Trust me Akane. You wouldn't believe me if I told you." _"I wonder how she'll take it... I think Ryoga will be glad those bars are between him and Akane. Still... I just can't help feeling sorry for him."_

The pig, still crying his heart out while gaining sympathetic looks from Akane, headed towards the lamp. It was a basket shape, with a handle connecting to each side held a candle that was fed by a flask of oil.

To everyone else still locked in the cages, the candle was merely for light. To Ranma it was there ticket out of there. To Ryoga it was pain, depression, and misery. Ryoga had two choices. He could knock the candle out and save everyone, but have Akane find out about him. Or he could refuse and watch everyone and his beloved die in front of him. He naturally had to go with saving them. In another day, everybody would be close to death. They had been deprived of food and water for so long. The water was now no longer a problem, but they all felt like heaving from lack of food.

The small pig pushed his nose against the lamp that was sitting on the floor, and began to push it towards his makeshift campfire. The pig let out a yelp of pain from how hot the lamp was, causing Akane to become more worried for her little piggy.

He sucked up the pain and kept pushing. It took forever. Every moment in the musty, dark room was like a lifetime. He finally reached over to the wooden pieces and the glass jar. He carefully began to tip in over slightly, causing the small candle to slide to the side of the small lantern type object.

The candle continued to slide over to the side, easily because of the roundish shape of the lamp. Then with a small plop, the candle landed beside the mess of splintered twigs and planks of wood.

Ranma looked over at Akane, who was dumbfounded. "She's probably wondering how the stupid pig got so smart." Ranma thought.

She just sat there on her knees, with her knuckles planting firmly onto her skirt covering the tough, dirty ground, staring in awe. The pig had now pushed the candle under a few of the splinters and was watching them slowly engulf in fire.

He smiled at his accomplishment but then thought of how much misery this was going to bring him.

All the times he had snuggled with her, watched her bathe (while trying not to look). Heck, he had even slept with her. A tinge of guilt shot straight through his body. He had to do this for her. To make up for it all. Even if she finds out... She deserves to know.

The fire had now caught on to the other half and was beginning to grow stronger. A few bubbles rose from the bottom of the glass and hurried to the top to where the air was.

The pig had been watching the worried girl the whole time. Never keeping his bulgy white eyes off her. This was, and always had been his worst nightmare.

The bubbles start to increase, rising quicker. "It's good enough now pig." Ranma stated, gaining a mean glare in between tears. 'I'm doing this for them, so why is he being mean to me?' Was something around what the cute little pig was thinking.

"Okay, I'm sorry." Ranma whispered to him, now feeling bad for him.

_Meanwhile in the other side of the room:_

The amazon girl reached a long slender hand to her eye and picked some crust out of it and flung it across the cage. An incredibly bored expression now shown on her face because of the small fire across from her, left her wondering why she was placed in the same cage as a weird man she barely remembers. She would much prefer to be with her airen. She glanced at the old man she could barely remember. He was snoring. _"How he sleep at time like this?"_ Then, turning her attention to the other side of the jail room. "You done with getting us out plan yet?" The bored girl asked. She glared at everyone as they continued to ignore her.

_Back on Ranma's side:_

The pig, now not sure how to get the now heated water out from the flames, charged through and pushed it out. He went so quickly that the flames didn't even singe a single hair, but almost knocked the bottle over. He quickly caught his breath and turned around and started to back up and push the hot bottle toward Ranma's reaching hand.

"I can't believe you Ranma!" The Tendo girl half screamed. "You made P-chan do all of that work just so you can be a guy again!"

Ranma, now wet again, but male, turned to face her. "It's not just for me." Which earned him an odd look.

"Who else would it be for Ranma...? The young girl pondered.

Ranma, still holding the warm bottle in his right hand began to speak to her. "Akane. Ya might wanna close your eyes."

The girl cocked her head. "Hell no I'm not closing my eyes. Whatever you're gonna do, do it!"

"Ok, ok! Jeez..." With that Ranma squeezed the open jar through the bars and over the small pig.

The pig, claws clenching the ground and crying, stood still awaiting his fate.

"_I'm sorry Ryoga..." _He quickly tipped the jar of warm water over the small pig's head as Akane watched in horror as her beloved "P-chan" began to grow. His arms became larger and more muscular. His legs did the same. His chest expanded along with the legs and arms. His head grew and took on more human features. His entire body changed from black to a nice tan instantly.

Now standing before everyone, where a small pig once was, stood a boy. The boy looked down at himself, half ashamed because of Akane, and because he was now naked for all eyes to see. A small blush came up but it was not seen because of the darkness.

All eyes were on Akane. She stared up and down, looking at the boy, not believing what she was seeing. One of the few people she really trusted, or thought she trusted was standing before her now. She tried to say something but it didn't come out.

The boy looked at the ground, determined not to look up at the staring faces. His job still wasn't done. He still needed to get everyone out.

The hard part was done. Now all that's left is the easy part. He sighed a few times and tried to cover up his nakedness. He still refused to look at her.

End of Chapter Five

_All flames will be used to light fires to make hot water for sad piggies:)_

_I thank everyone that has reviewed! The Almighty Hachu, Black Kitsuna , and Rabid Badger. I appreciate you all!_

_See ya!_

_Studdevil_


	6. Honor the Passed pt1

**Escaping the Inescapable **(Re-Written)

_by Studdevil_

_Honor the Passed (Part 1)_

The young man slowly stood up. His jet black hair was drenched and his body was dripping with warm water. Each drop rolled down his body and flung off onto the ground, shattering the silence between him and the others. All eyes were on him, and him alone.

Embarrassment. Sadness. Shock. Awkwardness. Pain. Betrayal.

Betrayal..

After a minute the silence slowly became unnerving; his enemy stood up. The pigtailed boy looked over at the lost boy, then at the shocked girl, wondering what was going through her mind.

The boy fumbled with his the Chinese belt, undoing the gold clasp. "Here, Ryoga." Ranma said, holding out his removed pants. The boy slowly looked up at his enemy.

"_Maybe he isn't my enemy.." _ He grabbed the silk pants lightly and put them on.

"These look just like pants anyways, right Akane?" Ranma asked, pointing down to his boxers. They reached his knees so he figured he'd be fine. "Akane..?" She was still sitting on the floor staring into his eyes, searching. Ryoga gulped. It was the look that made you feel all unsure of yourself inside. Like she was studying every detail of you. Studying your every movements to use them against you.

Even though he didn't want to hear Akane yell at him, and he was sure she would, he stepped forward to the bars. Still looking at the ground he bent his legs a tad. He sprung them up catapulting himself into the dark air, and began to come down. He extended his index finger forward and pointed it straight down.

"BAKUSAI TENKETSU!" He screamed as his finger made impact with the solid rock ground beneath him. The moment he touched the ground, it shook and exploded, sending pieces of rock all across the room. A rather large one flew at the cage across the room and woke up the sleeping Guide.

The bars also exploded but it was to the degree where the people inside all were screaming out in pain as they bounced off of them.

"Nice Ryoga. I wonder what those bars are made of anyways.. I couldn't break through them, eh Akane?"

It was obvious that he Ranma was trying to lighten up the mood, unfortunately it wasn't working. He could see why Akane wasn't responding. "Maybe if she wasn't so thick headed she woulda figured it out a long time ago."

A huge hole was blasted in the cage and at least one foot deep trench into the littered floor allowing Ranma and Akane to crawl out of their prison. Now standing up at eye level once again, the deathly silence continued.

Ryoga gulped and then took a small step to the silent girl, who was still searching through him trying to understand what it all meant. "Listen, Akane.." Ryoga started. "I wanted to.. I needed.. I'm so--"

Smack.

She landed a strong slap straight across his sweating face. The boy still stood there frozen, inhaling the pain forming on his face. The slap hurt. But more emotionally to him, for nothing hurts him too much anymore physically. The one he loved. The one that he wished would love him back. The one he wandered across the whole earth to find, just slapped him.

He continued to look straight into her eyes. She returned it. He couldn't sense how she was feeling, or what was going to happen. He braced himself for her to hit him again, but to his horror a small tear welled up in her eye and slowly trailed down her smooth cheek.

"Akane..." Ryoga tried again. "Please don't.. Don't cry." Ryoga begged, horrified at the sight.

"Ryoga. I trusted you.. I thought... I didn't think you, of all people would.. Betray me like this. You.. You perverted, sick, freak.." Akane said, filled with hate and disgust.

Ranma looked at the two standing in front of them. _"Man, I should stay outta this."_ He looked at Ryoga. He sensed nothing inside of him.

Nothing living.

"I can't believe you would take advantage of me like this. Tricking me! I.. I never want to talk to you again!" Akane averted her eyes. It was like he wasn't even worth her gaze.

That did it. He had been trying his best not to cry, but seeing the one he loved so much talk to him in that way was just too much to handle. A tear left his eye, which he didn't even bother to wipe away.

"Akane. Please don't say that." Ranma finally had to step in. "You know Ryoga would never want to hurt you. Think of how many times he's helped me save ya, or been there for ya.." Akane turned her head and met his eyes. Her eyes were unnerving to look at. It wasn't hate.

"..." Akane was silent.

"Guys, we need to get outta here. Someone must've heard us by now." Ranma announced.

They slowly nodded and hurried around trying to help. Ryoga did the same to the other cage on the opposite side of the room and freed the others.

"Stupid kitchen wrecker girl mad at Ranma again?" Asked the cute amazon as she tackled Ranma sending them both flying onto the ground. It didn't make the mood any better.

"Shampoo! Stop that! Get offa me!" Ranma looked over to Akane, expecting her to be stomping over coming to kill him. She didn't. She stood still, not even facing him. _"She doesn't...care..?"_

After waking up the guide from Jusenkyo once again, the crew started looking for a way out. There was nothing in the room that could help them whatsoever.

"_A burnt out fire, nope. Stupid old rug, nope. Water, HELL NO."_ "Guys. We're going out the front door." Ranma assessed.

All eyes turned to him and looked at him like he was crazy. "You all have a better idea?"

"Who cares.. We're all gonna die anyways, just like everyone else.." All eyes shifted to Akane and widened.

"Umm.. Akane? Are ya feeling all right..?"

"Pervert girl have strange sense of humor." Shampoo said aloud.

Ranma took a step towards Akane but froze when he felt incredible energy coming from her.

"Stay away from me Ranma!"Akane screamed. "Get back or I'll-- I'll.." _"What's wrong with me? Why do I feel all weird?" _The young girl fell to her knees and began to softly cry.

Ranma's eye twitched a few times. "S-stay a-away from y-you..?" His face looked hurt for a moment but he covered it up with confusion. "Are you... What'd I do to ya!" He blurted out loudly, surprising the whole room. _"Man she's uncute!"_

"What do you mean what did you do!" She was now gazing straight into his eyes. "You'd think that if someone was--"

A few thumping sounds came from above the crew and they all looked up. "Now might be a good time to get out of here, before they come and get us." The guide pointed out quietly.

Ranma took one look at Akane, but she was ignoring him with her arms crossed facing the other way.

"Grr.. Ok, let's go." Ranma motioned to the staircase at the side of the room that twisted up to the door. The all slowly made their way up the stone steps to the door. It was large but thin and also made of a thick gray stone. It had no handle and it looked like it would just push open.

Ranma slowly cracked it open. _"Geez this thing must weigh a ton, maybe as much as Akane."_ He snickered at his joke and kept pushing it. It was open a good foot now and he peeked his head out and looked around. No one in sight. "That's good." There were doors lined across the wall their door was on and they all looked identical. There must have been at least ten, and if they were all prison rooms like the one they had been in then the whole castle must be huge, Ranma thought.

"Coast is clear guys, still be quiet though. Let's check all these doors and see if anyone else is left." They all made their way into the long hallway and stood in the center.

"I'll take the ones down on that end, Ryoga, you take the ones on that side" he said as he pointed, receiving a slow nod from the other boy. "Shampoo, you take the ones in the middle, and Akane.. You.. You can go with Shampoo."

"No want to be with pervert girl, I go with you Ranma." Shampoo argued.

"No Shampoo." He shook his head and looked at Ryoga and knew he wouldn't want to be paired with him. "Akane'll go with me and and Jusenkyo guide... Do you even have a name?"

"Just call me Mitchell." He replied with a serious, but goofy look in his face.

"So your name is Mitchell..?" Ranma asked in a confused tone.

"No, but I like that name." Ranma rolled his eyes and turned more serious.

"I'm not calling you Mitchell if it isn't your name!" The guide thought for a second and answered him again.

"Then call me Jordan." He smiled again.

"No!"

"Fine then, picky boy. Call me MJ." Ranma clenched his fists but gave up.

"Fine, MJ. You wait outside my doors and let me know if anyone comes, ok?"

"Yeah yeah.."

"Okay everyone, let's do it. If you find anyone, come find Ryoga and he'll get them out."

Everyone nodded their heads and left to there assigned rooms on their recovery mission. Ranma and Akane headed down the hall quietly and made it to their first door. He waited for Akane to catch up and he slowly slid the heavy door forwards and walked in.

They headed down a spiraling staircase and walked down rows of dark cages, carefully looking in each one. It looked pretty deserted and everything was silent.

"Anyone in here?" Ranma asked loud enough for someone to hear him. No answer. "Nope, I guess no one's here, lets go to the next one, okay Akane?"

They turned. "Akane..? Why're you mad at me?" Ranma asked.

The girl looked up at him like he was mentally disabled. "You knew about Ryoga and you never told me."

"I tried to.." He countered.

"But you never told me anything, I had no clue he had a Jusenkyo curse! I just thought that since we're well.. You know.. That you would have told me about something like this, I mean.. I don't know what to do, whether to feel sorry for Ryoga, or kill him. You won't believe how many things he saw that he shouldn't have seen.."

Ranma stopped walking and he looked at the ground,"Heh.. That's more than I needed to know Akane." The girl's jaw dropped and she stared at him evilly.

"That's not what I meant you pervert!" She yelled at him and promptly hit him on the head. They both resumed walking but at a quicker pace. Once out the heavy stone door they looked down the hall and everything seemed fine. "MJ" was still on guard, Shampoo had just entered another door to check out the next room. The two teenagers quietly and briskly walked to their next door on the side of the one they had just exited. Ranma used his muscles and push the heavy stone door open and let Akane walk in.

The room looked the same as all the other rooms they had been in. There were wooden crates stacked all around the large room. There was a very dim light coming from a dying candle in the center of the room. As they continued down the center of the room, they smelt something. It was a faint smell, but definitely noticeable and different from the previous rooms.

As the two got closer to the end of the hall, the smell intensified. Akane put her hand over her nose and mouth, not wanting to breathe it in. It wasn't that bad, but after being in the same place for so long, any new smell felt weird and gross. Especially the one they were inhaling.

Akane looked down at the ground and saw that there were little black things on the floor. They looked like dried up petals from a flower but they were thrown all over the ground. They were almost at the end of the pathway in between the bars of the prisons they heard a small noise from the back of the room. Ranma reached down and picked up the lamp that lay on the ground and slowly held it out in front of them. The smell was horrible now and neither wanted to continue, but they did.

"H-hello?" Akane choked out. She normally wasn't afraid of the dark, but now that she was in an unknown place she had never been it creeped her out.

Ranma asked again. "Anyone here?" They waited a minute longer. "I coulda sworn I heard something!"

A rustling sound came from the cage next to them and the teenagers quickly jumped away from the cage. Ranma quickly held up the lamp to the cage and saw two figures on the floor. One was trying to stand up, and the other one wasn't moving at all. It was just laying there.

"Who goes there! Have you vile creatures come back for me as well!" Ranma slumped. _"Your kidding me.."_

"That you Kuno?" Ranma asked, hoping it would be someone else.

"Saotome.." Ranma could already tell by his voice that he was shaken. He held the lamp closer to the bars and Kuno's face came into view. He had a pained expression on his face. His face was dirty, he had multiple cuts along the side of his face, and his eyes were all pink. It looked as if he had been crying.

"Kuno.. Who is..?" Akane asked quietly. His face twitched a little and he looked down. There were puddles of blood they hadn't noticed before drooling out from in between the thick bars.

"It was my sister." He said. Akane's eyes widened.

"We need to get her out, she could die from blood loss!" Akane said quickly, trying to help.

Kuno shook his head. "It's too late, she hasn't spoken for hours. I-I don't th-think she is.." He trailed off, not needing to finish.

"Kuno.. I'm so.. Sorry.." Akane said to the poor boy. Ranma just listened and nodded. He felt a little bad for Kuno, but could care less for Kodachi. She had poisoned him, chased him, and tried to feed him to her pet alligator countless times. What would he miss? It still was a little sad, even for Ranma.

"I'll go get Ryoga. Stay here with him Akane." Ranma said, and with a nod from Akane, he ran back down the stone path and through the heavy door.

Ranma looked down the long hallway and made sure "MJ" was still keeping a lookout for any Surota. The guide had sat down, crisscrossed his feet and looked to be dozing off on the floor. Ranma quickly walked over to him and gave him a quick kick in the side. His head shot straight up and he quickly got to his feet. He wobbled a little but still stood straight. "Don't even think about falling asleep again" Ranma growled, "Do you want us to get killed?" 'MJ' shook his head and Ranma glared but kept going.

"Wait boy. Did you find anyone?" The guide asked.

"Yeah. We found two. One's dead though."

"Oh.." And Ranma finally continued to get Ryoga.

"Oh, which one is Ryoga in?" Ranma asked, feeling stupid for not asking before.

"The pig boy? He was in that door I think." And pointed to the stone door four doors down.

"Thanks" Ranma quietly called as he ran down the long hallway.

Ranma pushed the door forward. _"What were we thinking? There's no way they could of heard of through one of these!"_

He quickly walked through and the door slowly slid back closed. "Yo, Ryoga? Ya in here?" Ranma heard someone jump then heard him call back.

"Yes. Did you find anyone?"

"Kuno's in one of the cages in another room. Kodachi is..well..gone." Ranma slowly said through his teeth.

"What! How'd she get out of the cage!"

"She didn't stupid. She's dead."

"Oh. Here, let's get Kuno out then."

_To be continued in chapter 7_

_Studdevil_


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